The present invention relates to a component installing device, and more particularly, to a component installing device used in cases where electronic components of various types are installed directly on a circuit board, or cases where an electronic circuit board is manufactured by provisionally setting electronic components by means of cream solder, or the like, and then installing said components by means of reflow processing, or the like, and to a component supply device used to supply various components in a component installing device of this kind.
In order to install various electronic components of this type in a circuit board automatically (including provisional setting and actual installation), component supply mechanisms corresponding to the various types of components have been proposed and employed. For example, fine chip components are handled by means of component supply cassettes such as tape cassette or bulk cassette, in which components are supplied, one by one, to a prescribed position for use. Irregular components having a large or special shape, such as integrated circuits, connectors, or the like, are stored in an array in trays, several components of each different type being thus stored. When used, a prescribed tray of the various trays stored is selected and moved to a prescribed component supply position, where the components accommodated therein are supplied for use.
Conventionally, a variety of electronic components are supplied in a stable fashion by using component supply mechanisms of this kind in conjunction with a single component installing device, and even in the case of electronic circuit boards requiring a variety of electronic components, these components can be installed using a single component installing device or few component installing devices, thereby ensuring adaptability to increasing diversification in electronic components.
In recent years, there has been significant diversification and expansion of electronic components, with progress of integrated circuits, development in connectors, and the like. Therefore, it has become necessary to handle electronic components of many different types, forms, shapes, and sizes in components supply devices and component installing devices. Moreover, the number of electronic components required to manufacture a single electronic circuit board has also increased, due to increases in the size and functional range of electronic devices. In conjunction with this, there has also been demand for even higher speed operation in component supply, in order to achieve further improvements in productivity.
However, conventionally, in order to install the required types of components, a variety of component supply cassettes and a tray component supply mechanism have simply been used in conjunction with each other, but this has not enabled all of the various demands described above to be satisfied.
For example, depending on the electronic circuit board being fabricated, it may be necessary to install various types of large-scale electronic components, but if these components are mounted accordingly in a single tray component supply mechanism, there is a limit on the number of types of components that can be accommodated.
Moreover, although the tray component supply mechanism is suitable for supplying large-scale or specially shaped electronic components, it provides poor efficiency in supplying the plurality of trays accommodated therein, in a sequential fashion, according to the selection of component type. In other words, it moves a required tray of the trays accommodated in plural stages in a tray magazine to a position opposing a component supply position, whereupon the electronic component accommodated therein is supplied by drawing the tray out to the component supply position. Each time a different tray is selected, the tray at the component supply position is first accommodated in the tray magazine, whereupon a task for moving the subsequent tray to the component supply position is performed according to the same procedure, and hence a time lag arises when components of different types are supplied from the tray component supply mechanism in a sequential fashion, thereby causing productivity to decline. Moreover, since the component supply pattern is simple, it is difficult to achieve compatibility with various different component use patterns.
Furthermore, in the case of electronic components having a special shape, such as large-scale electronic components, connectors, or the like, which are not balanced with respect to their centre of gravity, the components are liable to fall off when handled by a component installing tool or component transfer head, and hence they cannot be handled at high speed. Therefore, if installing a variety of components by using various component supply cassettes and a tray component supply mechanism, which are provided conjointly, in a simple sequential fashion, it is necessary to delay the installation of other components whilst handling and installing components which have a slow handling speed, thereby impeding further speed increases in component installation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a component installing device comprising a plurality of component supply cassettes and tray component supply mechanisms, whereby a plurality of different types of components can be handled by a single installing machine, and installation can be carried out at higher speed by devising component supply modes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a component supply device whereby the supply of components using trays can be performed with good efficiency, in accordance with the pattern of use of various components.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the component installing device according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises: a tray component supply section having a plurality of conjointly provided tray component supply mechanisms for selecting trays accommodating prescribed components, and moving the trays from a storage position to a component supply position, according to need, thereby providing the components accommodated therein for use; a cassette component supply section having a plurality of mutually aligned component supply cassettes for carrying components in a tape cassette or a bulk cassette, and transporting the components to a component supply position, one at a time, thereby providing the components for use; and an installing head for picking up components accommodated in the respective trays located at the component supply positions of the respective tray component supply mechanisms in the tray component supply section, and components transported to the component supply positions of the respective component supply cassettes in the cassette component supply section, according to need, and installing the components at prescribed positions on an installation object.
According to this construction, small components having a high frequency of use are handled by a cassette component supply section and components of various types are supplied successively from a plurality of component supply cassettes and are handled and installed at prescribed positions on an installation object by means of an installing head, in a continuous fashion corresponding to their frequency of use. In the meantime, special types of components are supplied in an alternating fashion by a plurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms in a tray component supply section, whereby even if the time for supplying and handling individual components is long, the time required to supply components of special types in a sequential fashion is reduced by a half and the supply rate of special components from trays is doubled, thus making it easier for the supply of special components from trays to be completed in time, whilst the installing head is handling and installing components supplied from the cassette component supply section in a continuous fashion. Therefore, in overall terms, it is possible to handle a larger number of different component types, the time lag involved in supplying components is reduced or eliminated, and hence high-speed operation of component installation can be achieved.
In addition to the foregoing, the component installing device according to the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a plurality of component installing tools on said installing head for installing components aligned in a prescribed direction; a plurality of shuttles, which perform reciprocal movement in such a manner that they move a selected tray of one of the adjacently disposed tray component supply mechanisms from the storage position to the component supply position thereof and then return same to said storage position; component holding sections for holding components, provided on at least one of said shuttles and aligned in a direction and at a pitch corresponding to the alignment direction and alignment pitch of said component installing tools; and a component transfer head for picking up components accommodated in a tray that has been moved to a component supply position of a tray component supply mechanism and for loading these components onto said component holding sections; wherein said installing head is able to pick up the components held on said component holding sections and install same at prescribed positions of the installation object.
According to this construction, if there is a time surplus until the next tray component is used, when supplying special components by means of a plurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms, whilst the installing head is handling components supplied from the cassette component supply section in a continuous fashion according to the frequency of use thereof, then this time surplus is used to pick up components in a tray at a component supply position by means of the component transfer head and load a prescribed number of components onto the plurality of component holding sections provided on at least one of the shuttles which serve to extract and retract the trays in the tray component supply mechanisms, in such a manner that the prescribed number of components thus loaded are picked up together, as and when required, and handled and installed simultaneously, by means of the component installing tools on the installing head which coincide with the alignment direction and alignment pitch of the loaded components. Therefore, even in cases where a portion of the component installing tools pick up components directly from a tray located at a component supply position, the installation efficiency for components supplied by the tray component supply section can be increased by a factor equal to double the number of components that are picked up simultaneously, and hence significant increase in component installation speed can be achieved. In this case, desirably, the component holding sections are provided in equal number to the component installing tools on the installing head.
In addition to the respective characteristics described above, in the component installing device according to the present invention, if the component transfer head is devised in such a manner that components picked up from a tray are rotated preliminarily in a direction corresponding to their orientation for installation on the installation object by the installing head, before being held by the component holding sections, then components are rotated preliminarily without needing to provide a special time period in addition to the component supply operation from the tray component supply section performed whilst components supplied from the cassette component supply section are being installed by means of the aforementioned installing head. Thus the time period required conventionally for components to be subjected to image verification and rotated to a prescribed orientation, after they have been picked up by the installing head, is eliminated, thereby enabling components to be installed immediately after they have been picked up.
In addition to the respective characteristics described above, the component installing device according to the present invention is characterized in that, in cases where a component being handled is a problem component which causes an installation fault or other problem, the installing head discharges the component onto a problem component processing conveyor located at a prescribed position, the problem component processing conveyor being driven intermittently by a prescribed amount, each time it receives a discharged problem component, thereby conveying received problem components in a uniform direction at a uniform pitch, in such a manner that they can be supplied for processing, such as reinstallation, disposal, or the like. In this case, the present invention is also characterized in that, in cases where a problem component received from the installing head is larger than a reference component, the amount of conveyance is increases by an integral factor corresponding to the size ratio thereof.
According to the aforementioned construction, if there occurs a component causing an installation fault or other problems, when the installing head is successively picking up supplied electronic components of various types and installing same on an installation object, then this component is discharged onto a problem component processing conveyor located in a prescribed position, the problem components being conveyed at a uniform pitch by the problem component processing conveyor such that a space for receiving the next electronic component is provided, and the problem components on the problem component processing conveyor being processed manually for reuse, disposal, or the like, according to the respective components. In this case, even if the components handled by the installing head are of various different sizes, since the problem component processing conveyor is transported intermittently by an amount corresponding to the size of the component discharged on the problem component processing conveyor, it is possible to prevent situations where two discharged components overlap and interfere with each other, causing mutual damage or causing a component or components to slide off the conveyor. Furthermore, since the conveyance distance is reduced for small problem components, it is also possible to prevent situations where the whole problem component processing conveyor is transported further than necessary, the discharged electronic components are transported too rapidly, and hence the staff responsible do not have the opportunity to process these problem components correctly.
Moreover, in order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the component supply device according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises: a plurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms for selecting trays accommodating prescribed components and moving said trays from a storage position to a component supply position, according to need, thereby providing the components accommodated therein for use; a plurality of shuttles, which perform reciprocal movement in such a manner that they move a selected tray of one of the respective tray component supply mechanisms from the storage position to the component supply position thereof and then return same to said storage position; component holding sections, provided on at least one of said shuttles, for holding components in a prescribed alignment direction and at a prescribed alignment pitch and for providing same for use; and a component transfer head for picking up components accommodated in a tray that has been moved to a component supply position of a tray component supply mechanism and for loading these components onto said component holding sections; wherein said tray component supply mechanisms have a first component supply mode, whereby respective selected trays are moved simultaneously to component supply positions, thereby providing the components accommodated in the respective trays for use, and a second component supply mode, whereby components accommodated in a tray located at a component supply position of a tray component supply mechanism are loaded onto the component holding sections of the same shuttle by means of the component transfer head, thereby providing said components for use.
According to the construction described above, in the aforementioned first component supply mode, wherein respectively selected trays are moved simultaneously to component supply positions, the plurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms are able to supply and provide for use, simultaneously or sequentially, a number of types of components corresponding to the number of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms, at the maximum, and therefore the efficiency of supplying electronic components of plural types is improved.
Moreover, in the second component supply mode, wherein components accommodated in a tray which has been moved to a component supply position of a tray component supply mechanism are loaded onto component holding sections of the same shuttle by means of a component transfer head, thereby providing the components for use, a plurality of components held in the respective holding sections of the shuttle can be picked up and provided for use simultaneously, and hence the number of operations and the amount of time involved in picking up components for use can be reduced. Moreover, by performing the loading of the aforementioned components in parallel with the operation of supplying components from further component supply sections, comprising a further tray component supply mechanism and other component supply mechanisms, it is possible to improve efficiency for tasks wherein a prescribed number of components are handled in a similar manner.
Moreover, the component supply device according to the present invention is characterized in that the component transfer head comprises a component transfer tool for picking up components accommodated in a tray located at a component supply position and loading same onto the component holding sections of a shuttle, by means of upward and downward motion, and an area sensor for detecting at which component supply position of the respective tray component supply mechanisms the component transfer head is located, movement of the tray being prohibited at the component supply position where the area sensor detects the component transfer head to be located.
According to the construction described above, tray movement is permitted at the component supply position where the component transfer head is not located and tray movement is prohibited at the component supply position where the component transfer head is not located. The component transfer tool provided on the component transfer head moves upwards and downwards in order to pick up and load components, but since the trays cannot move at the component supply position where the component transfer head is located, it is possible to perform the operations of picking up components accommodated in a tray and loading the picked up components onto the respective component holding sections of a shuttle, in a safe manner, without problems of interference caused by accidental movement of the trays, due to malfunction, or the like. On the other hand, tray movement is permitted at the component supply position where the component transfer head is not located, and therefore a tray accommodating prescribed components can be moved into position, or a positioned tray can be exchanged for another tray, whilst the component transfer head is picking up and loading components at the other component supply position, without fear of interfering with the component transfer head. Consequently, supply of components can be performed in a safe manner, including the operation of loading components accommodated in a tray onto component holding sections on a shuttle by means of a component transfer head.
The component supply device according to the present invention is also characterized in that the component transfer head is prohibited from moving to another component supply position, when the component transfer tool of the component transfer head is lowered at the component supply position where the area sensor detects the component transfer head to be located.
According to the construction described above, it is possible to prevent the component transfer tool of the component transfer head from interfering with other members by moving between component supply positions whilst it is in a lowered state, and therefore interference caused by accidental movement of the component transfer head due to malfunction, or the like, can be prevented.
Moreover, if the component supply device according to the present invention is constituted in such a manner that the area sensor is provided on a fixed section and detects a long member connected to the component transfer head and moving in conjunction with same, then the wiring required for detection is simplified and the location of the component transfer head can be detected between a plurality of component supply positions.
Furthermore, in order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the component installation method according to the present invention is characterized in that components transported from a tray component supply section comprising a plurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms for storing trays accommodating prescribed components in a plurality of levels and moving a selected tray from a storage position to a component supply position, according to need, thereby providing the components accommodated therein for use, and components transported from a cassette component supply section comprising a plurality of aligned component supply cassettes for holding components in a tape cassette or a bulk cassette and transporting these components to a component supply position, one at a time, thereby providing the components for use, are picked up and installed at prescribed positions on an installation object by means of an installing head, according to need.
Moreover, the component supply method according to the present invention is a component supply method for selecting a tray accommodating prescribed components in one of a plurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms, and moving the tray from the storage position thereof to a component supply position, thereby providing the components accommodated therein for use, characterized in that, in a first component supply mode, respective selected trays of the jointly provided tray component supply mechanisms are moved simultaneously to a component supply position, thereby providing the components accommodated in the respective trays for use, by means of shuttles which perform reciprocal movement in such a manner that they move selected trays from the storage position thereof to a component supply position and then return same to the storage position, and in a second component supply mode, components accommodated in a tray located at a component supply position of a tray component supply mechanism are loaded onto component holding sections provided on at least one of the shuttles for holding components in a prescribed alignment direction and at a prescribed alignment pitch, thereby supplying the components for use, by means of a component transfer head for picking up and loading components accommodated in a tray located at a component supply position of a tray component supply mechanism.
According to the component installation and supply methods described above, the supply rate of special types of components from trays can be doubled by supplying special components in an alternating fashion from a plurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms in a tray component supply section, whilst components having a high frequency of use are supplied and installed from a cassette component supply section. Therefore time lag in component supply can be eliminated and increased speed in component installation can be achieved. Furthermore, in the second component supply mode of the tray component supply mechanisms, since a plurality of components held on the component holding sections of a shuttle are picked up and provided for use simultaneously, it is possible to raise installation efficiency by reducing the number of tasks and the required time involved in handling components.